Best Western Hotel Sapta Patala Closed Before it Opens

110-Room Kuta Hotel Ruled an Illegal Structure in Area Reserved for Single Family Residences.

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(6/15/2009)

NusaBali and Bali Post both report that the 110-room Best Western Hotel Sapta Patala on Jalan Kubu Anyar in Kuta now faces a possibly insurmountable obstacle to its eventual opening. The hotel, more than 90% completed and in its final finishing stage of construction prior to official operation, was expanded without first obtaining the required licenses and permits. [See: New Best Western Hotels in Bali Under Official Scrutiny]

Quoting the Badung Regency Tourism Office (Disparda),NusaBali and Bali Post report that the new hotel was built in absolute violation of zoning laws, creating a hotel in an area reserved exclusively for residential premises.

The Head of the Badung Disparda, I Made Subway, said: "We cannot issue a license. It's clear that the hotel is violating the law. If they need a permit for rental houses, that's not our authority. They could try to ask at the development section."

Meanwhile, the head of the development section, Dewa Apramana, said his office can only grant residential permits to small structures, such as individual houses and small store fronts (rukos).

The hotel has, in fact, been in operation in various forms since 1970 when it first opened with just 7 rooms. It later expanded to 57 rooms before its latest expansion to become a 110 room property.

Unless a special exemption is granted or a decision is made to somehow not enforce the zoning laws, the Best Western Sapta Patala Hotel in Kuta will forever stand empty and more than 90% completed. Press reports confirm that construction at the hotel project site has ceased in compliance with orders from local authorities to halt the construction of the project.